Margaret Weis
| birth_place = Independence, Missouri, USA | occupation = Novelist | spouse = | children = | nationality = American | period = 1984-present | genre = Fantasy, science fiction | website = }} Margaret Edith Weis is a fantasy and science fiction writer who has written dozens of novels and short stories. Along with Tracy Hickman, Weis is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world. Early life Margaret Weis was born March 16, 1948, in Independence, Missouri. She discovered heroic fantasy fiction while while studying at the University of Missouri (MU). "I read Tolkien when it made its first big sweep in the colleges back in 1966," she said. "A girlfriend of mine gave me copy of the books while I was in summer school at MU. I literally couldn't put them down! I never found any other fantasy I liked, and just never read any fantasy after Tolkien." In 1970 Weis graduated from MU with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and literature. Career Weis first went to work for a small publishing company in Independence, where she became an editor. From 1972 to 1983 she worked for Herald Publishing House as advertising director and, from 1981 to 1983, as director of Independence Press, Herald Publishing's trade division. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Weis wrote children's books about computer graphics, robots, the history of Thanksgiving, the outlaws Frank and Jesse James, and an adventure book at a second-grade reading level for low-literacy prisoners. Dragonlance In 1983 Weis applied for a games editor job at TSR, Inc. that she saw advertised in Publishers Weekly. TSR turned her down for that position, but they hired her as a book editor. She worked in the TSR's book division until 1986. One of her first assignments was to help coordinate, along with TSR colleague Tracy Hickman, "Project Overlord," which was to include a novel and three AD&D modules. Weis and Hickman plotted the novel and hired an author, who didn't work out. "By that time," said Weis, "Hickman and I were so into the project that we felt we had to write it." "Project Overlord" soon became known as Dragonlance and grew into a trilogy of novels, called the Dragonlance Chronicles, and 15 linked modules.Phillips, Casey (February 19, 2010). "QandA with Larry Elmore", Chattanooga Times Free Press. Distributed through McClatchy-Tribune News Service, February 19, 2010. Jean Black, managing editor of TSR's book department, picked Weis and Hickman to write the series. "To my mind," said Weis, "what made the project so successful was that everyone was involved in it, excited about it, and believed in it." Weis and Hickman also wrote the Dragonlance Legends trilogy, which was published in 1986. As a writing team they produced several projects based on the Dragonlance saga, which included novels, short stories, art books, and calendars in the product line. Post-TSR Weis and Hickman later left TSR, and wrote the Darksword trilogy (1986–87) and the seven-book Deathgate Cycle (1988–94) for Bantam Books. Weis also wrote the space opera Star of the Guardians novels, which she calls her favorite of her series. Weis was diagnosed with breast cancer, and recovered in 1993. She published a game based on Mag Force 7 from 1994–96, and married writer/game designer Don Perrin in 1996. Weis returned to Dragonlance in 1995 with Dragons of Summer Flame, written with Hickman, and her next project was a solo novel called The Soulforge, based on her favorite character from the trilogy, the dark wizard Raistlin. In 1998, she began working with Hickman on Sovereign Stone, a fantasy trilogy in a setting created by artist Larry Elmore, and published by Del Rey. Wizards of the Coast published a new trilogy of Dragonlance novels by Weis and Hickman called War of Souls, beginning with Dragons of a Fallen Sun (2000). Most recently, she has completed the third novel in the Dragonvarld trilogy for Tor, Master of Dragons. Her third novel in the Dark Disciple series, Amber and Blood, was released to stores on May 6, 2008. She has finished work on the first novel in the Lost Chronicles series with co-author Hickman, entitled Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, which was released in July 2006. in October 2005.]] In 1999 Pyramid magazine named Weis as one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons "at least in the realm of adventure gaming," and said she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre." Weis was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 2002, recognized in part for "one game line turned literary sensation: Dragonlance." In the late 1990s, Larry Elmore approached Weis and Hickman to pitch his fantasy world of Loerem, which they agreed to write about in the Sovereign Stone trilogy of books. Weis formed the company Sovereign Press with herself as CEO to publish the Sovereign Stone roleplaying game written by Don Perrin and Lester Smith. To support the setting, Weis and Perrin wrote a short story called "Shadamehr and the Old Wives Tale" which appeared in Dragon #264 (October, 1999). In 2002 Wizards of the Coast agreed to licence the Dragonlance setting to Sovereign Press for RPG publication; Weis and Perrin, along with Jamie Chambers and Christopher Coyle, wrote the Dragonlance Campaign Setting (2003) for publication by Wizards of the Coast, after which Sovereign Press was allowed to expand and supplement that book using the d20 licence. In 2004, Perrin left Sovereign Press and Weis founded the new company Margaret Weis Productions. In addition to her writing career, Margaret serves as the owner and chief officer of two publishing companies, including Sovereign Press, Inc., a game publisher based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The company used to own the license to Larry Elmore's Sovereign Stone RPG world, hence the name of the company. It now produces the Dragonlance line of game products, licensed from Wizards of the Coast. Her newest company, Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, publishes RPG line based on several licenses including Serenity and Battlestar Galactica as well as Ed Greenwood's new solo venture into roleplaying, Castlemourn. Weis has served on the Board of Directors of Mag Force 7, Inc., the developer of the Star of the Guardians and Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game (CCGs). Personal life Despite her fame as a fantasy author, she claims not to read fantasy books. Weis is a mother of two from her first marriage. She has also divorced her second husband, Canadian-born author Don Perrin. Weis is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in 1993 and underwent successful chemotherapy. She kept herself busy writing The Seventh Gate during her treatment. Weis now lives in southern Wisconsin in a converted barn. Bibliography Dragonlance * Chronicles: *# Dragons of Autumn Twilight''1 (1984), ISBN 0-7869-1574-9 *# ''Dragons of Winter Night''1 (1985) *# ''Dragons of Spring Dawning''1 (1985), ISBN 0-7869-1589-7 * Legends: *# ''Time of the Twins''1 (1986), ISBN 0-7869-1804-7 *# ''War of the Twins''1 (1986) *# ''Test of the Twins''1 (1986) * ''The Second Generation''1 (1994) * ''Dragons of Summer Flame''1 (1996) * Kang's Regiment: *# ''The Doom Brigade''2 (1996) *# ''Draconian Measures''2 (2000) * The Raistlin Chronicles: *# ''The Soulforge (1998) *# Brothers in Arms² (1999) * The War of Souls: *# Dragons of a Fallen Sun''1 (2000) (Winner of the 2000 Origins Award for ''Best Game-Related Novel) *# Dragons of a Lost Star''1 (2001) *# ''Dragons of a Vanished Moon''1 (2002) * The Dark Disciple: *# ''Amber and Ashes (2004) *# Amber and Iron (2006) *# Amber and Blood (2008) * The Lost Chronicles: *# Dragons of the Dwarven Depths''1 (2006) *# ''Dragons of the Highlord Skies''1 (2007) *# ''Dragons of the Hourglass Mage''1 (2009) 1 ''(co-author Tracy Hickman) 2 (co-author Don Perrin) Endless Quest # The Endless Catacombs (1984) Darksword (co-author Tracy Hickman) # Forging the Darksword (1987) # Doom of the Darksword (1988) # Triumph of the Darksword (1988) # Legacy of the Darksword (1997) # Darksword Adventures (1988) Rose of the Prophet (co-author Tracy Hickman) # The Will of the Wanderer (1988) # Paladin of the Night (1989) # The Prophet of Akhran (1989) Star of the Guardians # The Lost King (1990) # King's Test (1991) # King's Sacrifice (1991) # Ghost Legion (1993) The Death Gate Cycle (co-author Tracy Hickman) # Dragon Wing (1990) # Elven Star (1991) # Fire Sea (1992) # Serpent Mage (1993) # The Hand of Chaos (1993) # Into the Labyrinth (1994) # The Seventh Gate (1995) Mag Force 7 (co-author Don Perrin) # The Knights of the Black Earth (1995) # Robot Blues (1996) # Hung Out (1997) Starshield (co-author Tracy Hickman) # Starshield: Sentinels (1996) # Nightsword (1998) Dragon's Disciple (co-author David Baldwin, her son) # Dark Heart (1998) Sovereign Stone (co-author Tracy Hickman) # Well of Darkness (2000) # Guardians of the Lost (2001) # Journey into the Void (2003) Dragonvarld # Mistress Of Dragons (2003) # The Dragon's Son (2004) # Master of Dragons (2005) Angel Series (co-author, Lizz Weis her daughter) # Warrior Angel (2007) # Fallen Angel (2008) Dragonships of Vindras (co-author Tracy Hickman) # Bones of the Dragon (2009) # Secret of the Dragon (March 16, 2010) # Rage of the Dragon (April 24, 2012) Dragon Brigade (co-author Robert Krammes) # Shadow Raiders (May 2011) # Storm Riders (July 2013) # The Seventh Sigil (September 2014) References External links * * * Official Margaret Weis podcast * Interview with the Scifi channel * * Margaret Baldwin (5 records, 1981–1984) and Susan Lawson at LC Authorities Category:1948 births Category:20th-century American novelists Category:20th-century women writers Category:21st-century American novelists Category:21st-century women writers Category:American fantasy writers Category:American technology company founders Category:American women novelists Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:Dungeons & Dragons novelists Category:Living people Category:People from Independence, Missouri Category:Role-playing game designers Category:University of Missouri alumni Category:Women company founders Category:Women science fiction and fantasy writers Category:Writers from Missouri Category:Writers from Wisconsin